This invention relates generally to a heat sink device and a mounting system for an electronic module and more particularly to a combination heat sink device and mounting system interconnect for an electronic module having a land grid array (LGA) module package.
As the demand for smaller, more powerful electronic systems increase, system manufacturers are tasked to find a way to increase system performance while decreasing the size of the electronic components within the electronic system. Two areas which have cause printed circuit board (PCB) designers problems include the communication between a PCB and an electronic module, such as a microprocessor and/or a mulit-chip module, and the dissipation of heat generated by an electronic module.
Electronic modules are usually communicated with a PCB via a physical connection between the PCB and the module. An electronic module having an LGA module package includes a plurality of pads, or lands, disposed about module periphery for communication with a PCB. The electronic module may include a die having a large number of electrical circuit elements, wherein one or more of the electrical circuit elements are associated with one or more of the pads so as to allow for communication between the electrical circuit elements and an external component, such as a PCB. In order for reliable communication to occur between the electronic module and a PCB, the electronic module must be disposed relative to the PCB so that the pads on the electronic module are non-movably associated with pads on the PCB. If the electronic module is allowed to move relative to the PCB, communication between the electronic module and the PCB may be compromised and performance may be degraded.
Unfortunately, conventional LGA designs require a large number of mechanical components (such as mounting structures, silos and springs) in order to non-movably associate the electronic module with the PCB. In addition, these designs tended to produce a non-uniform load distribution across the electronic module. As a result of this non-uniform load distribution, communication between the electronic module and the PCB may become compromised and additional structure is needed to uniformly distribute the load. As such, spatial concerns became a critical issue, especially since increases in PCB packaging density caused the amount of space allotted for electronic components to decrease. Furthermore, often times conventional mounting systems consist of steel alloy springs that have different expansion coefficients than the heat sink base and/or heat sink fins. As a result, the mismatch between the expansion coefficients during temperature excursions may cause a non-uniform load distribution.
Moreover, the addition of a heat sink to the electronic modules exacerbates the spatial problems discussed above. As an electronic module operates the electron flow within the module generates heat. If this heat is not removed, or dissipated, the electronic module may not operate correctly and may become damaged. Typically, the heat generated by the electronic module is dissipated by a cooling means, such as an aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and/or copper alloy heat sink which absorbs and dissipates the heat via direct air convection. These conventional heat sinks are well known in the electronics industry and are used extensively to dissipate heat generated by electronic modules and other electronic components used in computers and various other electronic equipment. Because these heat sinks are usually attached to the electronic module via a mechanical means, even more space is consumed by a single electronic module.
Thus, a large number of components are required to incorporate an electronic module into a PCB and the space consumed by these components tend to dictate the size of the electronic system. This results in a significant increase in the cost of materials, manufacturing and production.
A heat sink device interconnect comprising: a mounting device, having a mounting device top; a board stiffener, wherein the board stiffener is disposed so as to be communicated with the mounting device; and a heat sink device compressingly disposed between the mounting device top and the board stiffener, wherein the heat sink device includes a top plate, a bottom plate and a heat sink fin compressingly disposed between the top plate and the bottom plate.
A method for implementing a heat sink device interconnect comprising: obtaining an electronic module, a printed circuit board and a heat sink device interconnect having a heat sink device, an interconnect device, a mounting device and a board stiffener; arranging the electronic module, the printed circuit board and the heat sink device interconnect such that the electronic module and the printed circuit board is disposed between the board stiffener and the heat sink device; and adjusting the mounting device so as to cause the electronic module to become compressingly associated with the printed circuit board.